The Pirate Raiders (17 page)

"So what chance do we have against power like that?" Gordon asked, and now he suddenly sounded angry.  "It won't be a fair fight at all if he's got that sort of power!"

"Well, that leads us to our current heading," I replied.  "We're going to an island that has an item we can use to bargain with Captain Trimble."

"What sort of item?" Robert asked.

"Frankly, I don't know," I answered with a sigh. 

Gordon slapped the table with both hands and then began laughing like a mad man again.  "Oh, of course you don't know," he snapped.  "Let me guess, she told you about this mysterious item that will give us a chance against her father," he said, pointing at Andrea.

"I'm not lying, it's why we stopped at New Providence," Andrea explained.  "I visited my uncle so that I could get this."  She retrieved the map and placed it on the table for everyone to see.  "This map will show us where to find my father's chest."

"And if we have the chest, Trimble will not destroy the ship that it is on," I added. 

"The chest that's contents you are unaware of," Gordon quipped.  "Don't forget that part."

"You must trust me," Andrea pleaded.  "I'm telling the truth.  We have to get this chest before we go after my father.  It's our only chance!"

"It's bloody madness, that’s what it is," he snapped back.

"It's all we've got!" I shouted, pounding a fist into the table. 

There was a long silence, and all of the men were looking at me.  They seemed somewhat surprised at my demeanor.  It wasn't often that I shouted at a member of the crew…even Gordon.  I rubbed my face with both hands for a moment, trying to calm myself.

"Look," I said.  "I can't do this without you blokes.  I need you all."

"Well I'm not going anywhere, captain," Robert said assuringly. "Not until Captain Trimble is dead."

The other men began muttering similar allegiances, even Hale Woodrow managed a nod that indicated to me he was on my side.  Gordon, on the other hand, crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair.  He seemed to stare at some imaginary point on the wall opposite him in deep thought.  Finally, he allowed his chair to fall forward and then immediately looked my direction.  "I've followed you on every other ridiculous cause you've ever embarked upon, why should this be any different?  What’s our heading?”

“Andrea has learned that the chest we seek is buried on a tiny island between here and Small Hope Bay.  We’ve learned that Small Hope Bay is where we will have the best chance of intercepting Captain Trimble,” I said.  I was really hoping I could avoid telling them the name of the island.  However, I knew it was a futile attempt.

“Well the sooner we find this chest, the better Cap’n,” Langley exclaimed proudly.  “So just tell me the name of the island and I’ll get this girl in the wind.”

“The name of the island…” I said timidly.  “It’s the Isle of Blood.”

Hale Woodrow turned white as soon as I spoke the words.  All of the men seemed troubled by the news except for Joe, who I could only assume had never heard of the island. 

“Captain, you’ve heard the stories about that island…right?” Robert asked.

“Yes, of course I have, but I’m not concerned,” I scoffed.  “The only time to be afraid is during the night.  We are going to find the chest during the day.  All will be well, trust me.”

“Captain, what happens during the night?” Joe asked.  His eyes were wide and worried.

“Rumor has it the island is inhabited by a bloodthirsty tribe of cannibals,” I said.  “It seems that they are not an active lot during the day, and that is what will keep us safe.”

Joe nodded, but his eyes remained worried. 

“Gentlemen, I don’t want the entire crew knowing everything I’ve just shared with you.  We will tell them what they need to know, and nothing more.  I need their confidence to remain high if we’re going to achieve victory.  Can I count on you all?”

All of the men nodded and muttered agreements.  Langley was the first to rise from the table.  He grabbed a bottle of rum as he headed out the door and went straight to the helm.  It would be a s
hort trip to the Isle of Blood.

Chapter
14
:

We arrived at the Isle of Blood sometime during the middle of the night.  I awakened the next morning and got my first look at the mysterious island when I stepped on deck.  I peered through my scope and scanned the entire beach for any signs of life.  When none was found, I then began scanning over the thick jungle that seemed to rise up abruptly beyond the tiny beach like a wall.  The dense vegetation was impossible to see through.  That fact made me somewhat nervous…the island just seemed too quiet.  Andrea, Gordon, and Langley all conversed while taking another look at the map.  After they all agreed that we were on the correct side of the island, it was time to get the long boat ready. 

I decided it would be best if only those of us that had met the previous afternoon in my cabin conducted the search for the chest.  The eight of us made landfall during mid-morning.  While Joe, Jolly Jack, and Hale pulled the longboat ashore Andrea immediately jumped into the surf and made her way to the sandy white beach.  She then unfolded the map and began walking up the beach.  Gordon, Langley, and I followed, each of us with a shovel slung over our shoulders.  The three of us said nothing, as it seemed that Andrea knew exactly where she was going.  The breeze that rolled off the sea was fierce and nearly constant, and there were a few times I had to hold my hat on my head to keep it from blowing away.  Andrea nearly lost the map a time or two as well, but she was careful and held it tightly with both hands.  We walked what I estimated to be nearly two hundred paces when she suddenly stopped.  Andrea then took her foot and began dragging it through the sand, eventually forming a wide circle.  The circle was probably fifteen feet across.

"I believe it's somewhere within this circle," she said, her golden hair blew wildly across her face.

"Alright, how deep do you think we will have to go?" Gordon asked.

Andrea shrugged.  "Sorry, I have no idea.  The map says nothing about the depth we will have to dig and I unfortunately did not think to ask my uncle."

"Well that's just bloody perfect," I said, dejected.  "Well, let's get started then."  I shoved the blade of my shovel into the ground right where I stood.  As I began digging, I made sure to throw each shovel full of sand outside of the circle Andrea had drawn; however, I had my doubts about whether or not her circle was entirely accurate. 

Moments later, Joe, Hale and Jolly Jack joined us and began digging with shovels of their own.  The only one not digging was Andrea, and I was fine with that.  Although she was definitely a pirate, she was still a lady and I wouldn't dare think of asking her to dig.  I glanced over at her a few times and noticed her watching the jungle intensely.  She had not shown a lot of fear or concern when we'd discussed the legends regarding the cannibalistic tribe, but now that we were on the island it seemed to be at the forefront of her mind. 

The progress of our digging seemed to go much faster than I expected.  Before long each of us had dug seven holes, each one nearing ten feet in depth.  This wasn't my first time to dig for treasure and I was careful to dig myself a slope so that I could get out with ease.  I clambered out of the hole and noted that the sun was directly overhead now, bearing down with intense heat.  It was already midday and so far there was no sign of any chest.  I wiped the sweat from my brow and looked around at the other six holes. 

"Alright men, let's take a break…everyone out of the holes!"

All of them climbed from the earth, covered in sand and sweat, exhaustion evident in their slow movements.  Jolly Jack was the eldest member of the lot and the old sea cook immediately collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily.  I knelt down over him and poured a stream of cool water from my canteen over his face.  This seemed to breathe new life into him and he thanked me.  I handed the canteen to the old pirate and he drank his fill.  I looked to the others, and they were panting and drinking as well.  Langley held the opening of a canvas water bag up over his head and poured water (no doubt laced with rum) into his gaping mouth. 

"If we haven't hit anything after digging all this time, I think it's time to move to another spot," I told them as they rested. 

"Why are you so sure the chest is in this circle?" Gordon asked Andrea.

She held the map up.  "Well, we all agreed that this is the side of the island the map says the chest is on.  The text mentions a crop of bamboo near the center of the beach, and I noticed it as soon as we arrived on the island.  It then says to walk two hundred paces west and dig fifty paces from the surf.  That is precisely where we are digging.  Just move to another spot within the circle…it's here, trust me."

"How old is that map?" I asked her.

She looked at the tattered fabric as she thought.  "From what I understand, my father made it when he was much younger…it would've been after his encounter with the Dawnbreaker that scarred him so badly."  She took a deep breath and moved strands of wind-blown hair out of her face.  "It has to be at least twenty years old."

"A lot can change in twenty years," Gordon said, which was exactly what I was thinking.

"How do you know that crop of bamboo is the same one your father saw twenty years ago?" I asked.  "This beach may be vastly different than it was back then."

"Or it could be almost exactly as it was back then," Andrea replied.  "Keep in mind that this is an island people avoid.  It's been almost untouched during the past twenty years.  I believe that crop of bamboo is exactly the one my father saw.  Now, we're wasting valuable daylight.  I don't think any of us want to be here after dark.  I know that you all are tired, but time is short."

Gordon scowled and then said, "Yes ma'am…I am sorry and it won't happen again.  Let me get back to my digging…just please don't whip us."

"That's not funny," Joe snapped, and he looked deadly serious.  He wasn't wearing a shirt, and when his large hand tightened around the handle of his shovel, it seemed every muscle in his chest, torso, and arms flexed and bulged in unison.

Gordon turned red from embarrassment and probably fear too.  "I'm sorry, Joe," he stammered.  "That was a foolish thing to say, and I apologize."

Joe remained stone-faced for a long moment and then without saying a word he marched straight up to Gordon.  The rest of us looked on, unsure of what to do or say.  "Mr. Littleton," he growled. 

"Yes," Gordon replied meekly.

"You are a very gullible man," he said, and after a brief moment, he began roaring with laughter. 

Gordon looked toward me as if he wanted me to give him some sort of explanation.  I had none; all I could do was shrug.  For a moment I thought maybe the heat was getting to Joe.  The big man just continued to laugh.

"You believe that I'm a thief and you believe I would harm you?" he said, almost crying from laughter.

Suddenly, I remembered the trick Andrea and I had played on Gordon in an attempt to get him to snap back to his old self.  We'd gotten Joe to play along too and apparently the drollery had made an impression on him.  I seemed to figure it out about the time Gordon did and the two of us began laughing along with Joe.  Hale Woodrow began laughing also, but I think he was doing it because he felt like he should, not because he understood.  Andrea, Langley, and Jolly Jack stared at me as if waiting for some sort of explanation but I just shrugged them off and went back to digging.  It was nice to see that Joe was beginning to feel comfortable enough with his new shipmates to joke around, no matter how laughable his attempt at humor was.

***

The digging continued for hours.  All of us were exhausted and to make matters worse, Jolly Jack was no longer in any condition to help us.  He was now seated on an old piece of driftwood right next to Andrea, too tired to even lift a shovel off the ground.  The remaining six of us dug hole after hole until finally it seemed that the entire circle Andrea had drawn in the sand became one giant pit in the beach.  All the digging that had been done produced no sign of a chest anywhere.  Gordon became more frustrated as the day went on and he began to curse more and more.  Langley continued to down his rum-laced water until he was too drunk to even care.  His production decreased significantly, but at least he was happy.  Joe and Hale, the two biggest and strongest men digging, continued to produce the most.  I urged them to take breaks and on more than one occasion they refused.  I knew that they were noticing the same thing that I was noticing: the sun was dropping lower and lower to the west and it would not be long before nightfall approached.  The daylight was fading fast.  I too was becoming frustrated and I fought it off as long as I possibly could.  Finally, I couldn't stay silent any longer.

"There is no chest here," I snapped, throwing my shovel into the sand.  "This has been a tremendous waste of time."

"William, I know this will come as a shock to you," Gordon muttered to me, "but I agree with you.  If there was a chest buried here we would have found it by now."

Andrea rose from where she was sitting and walked over to the pit.  She peered down into it as if she were expecting to see a corner of the chest jutting out of the earth somewhere that we'd missed.  "I don't understand," she said.  "This is exactly where the map said it would be."

"Nightfall is fast approaching," Langley said, his voice slurring.  "Low tide is coming…we'll have to drag the long boat back a ways to get to the water now."

"He's right," Gordon added.  "We should prepare to get off this wretched island before the cannibals come for us."

I looked toward the surf and noticed the tide was indeed lowering.  Suddenly, I was struck by an epiphany.

"It's the tide!" I exclaimed. 

"What about it?" Andrea asked.

"You're bloody father was far smarter than we give him credit for," I replied.  "He waited till the water began to recede before he buried the chest.  He knew no one would try digging for it so close to nightfall!  The fifty paces from the water was meant to be counted off just before dusk, we should be digging closer to the surf!"

"Aye, the captain is right," Jolly Jack agreed, and he seemed to find a new burst of energy.  He jogged toward the edge of the water and then began counting off the paces until he finally stopped a good distance before the pit we'd dug.  "Start digging here mates!"

I ran to the spot he was standing and began digging at a furious pace.  Gordon ran beside me and grabbed my arm.

"Are you mad?" he asked.  "Nightfall is mere minutes away.  There's no time!"

"We can do this!" I shouted back at him.  "Start digging, we have to hurry!"

Oliver Langley and Robert Lynch began digging on either side of me.  Moments later Hale and Joe were shoveling sand out of the way as well.  Gordon reluctantly joined in and Andrea and Jolly Jack continued to scan the jungle for any signs of movement.  The digging continued for nearly ten minutes when, ironically, Gordon was the first to strike something roughly five feet down. 

"I've got something!" he shouted, and the rest of us scurried around him and began digging feverishly. 

I looked to the sky and was discouraged when I saw stars beginning to twinkle beyond the dark purple sky.  "We've got to hurry!" I exclaimed.

The top of the chest was revealed very quickly and the first thing that surprised me was its size.  It was a rather large chest, measuring approximately three feet by four feet.  We dug further into the ground and when we reached the bottom of the chest it appeared to be around three feet in depth as well. 

With the realization that our time was terrifyingly short, I commanded Langley and Jolly Jack to ready the long boat.  "Get it near the edge of the water directly below us," I said.  "The rest of us will meet you with the chest."  Both men nodded and scurried away, Langley stumbled a bit but managed to avoid falling. 

"Alright men, let's get this chest out of the ground--lively now!"

The lot of us began heaving and tugging mightily at the large metal handles on either end of the chest.  It was not nearly as heavy as I suspected it would be, which was a fortunate thing at the current time, but it also indicated to me that the chest's contents did not contain gold (which was not so fortunate).  No sooner had we gotten the chest out of the hole and placed it on the beach, that a blood-curdling howl rang out from somewhere beyond the dense vegetation where the jungle began. 

"What the devil was that?" Gordon whispered.

"That was something bad--something really, really bad," I replied.  "Hurry, let's grab the chest and get out of here."